Britain's top policeman was last night facing a barrage of calls to personally apologise to war hero Lord Bramall for his ten-month child sex abuse hell.

Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe was accused of running a 'Stasi'-style police force after Scotland Yard's bungled investigation into the D-Day veteran ended in fiasco.

The row over the Metropolitan Police's treatment of the 92-year-old Field Marshal – a former head of the Army – exploded after police revealed late on Friday that there was 'insufficient' evidence to charge him.

But Met Commissioner Sir Bernard – set to be awarded a contract extension by the Home Secretary – has no plans to express any regret for the pursuit of the soldier. As demands for a full apology to Lord Bramall increased:

There were calls for abuse fantasists to be prosecuted for wasting police time;

Sources said the shambolic £2 million VIP child sex abuse and murder inquiry, Operation Midland, is likely to be wound up before Easter;

Broadcaster Paul Gambaccini, held on police bail for 12 months over similarly false claims, likened the Met to the 'KGB'.

Prime Minister David Cameron said it would be wrong for him to demand the Met apologised over any specific case but he said Lord Bramall was a 'wonderful man', adding authorities who make a mistake should be 'big enough to give people some comfort'.

Gambaccini said last night: 'The Metropolitan Police must apologise to the nation's most decorated war hero. It is unspeakable that a British police force should torment an innocent man for 12 months in a case that is 100 per cent fraud, as happened with me and has happened again with Lord Bramall, without apologising.

'The British police now enter an innocent man's home in force, regardless of the time of day or night, seize his possessions and publicise his name in the hope that more people will accuse him.

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'When they fail, as they must and as they have in almost all such cases, they never admit error, they never apologise, and they never use the word 'innocent'.

'The Metropolitan Police of Bernard Hogan-Howe stand squarely in the lineage of the KGB and the Stasi. It is unfit for purpose in a just society. It faces only two conceivable futures – root-and-branch reform or disestablishment. The Commissioner himself faces only two possible futures – resignation or the sack.'

Under fire: Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe (left) has been accused of running a 'Stasi'-style police force. He has also been called on to make a personal apology to Lord Bramall by Thames Valley PCC Anthony Stansfield (right)

Lord Bramall (right) with the Queen at a parade marking the 50th anniversary of VJ Day in 1995

Anthony Stansfeld, the Police and Crime Commissioner for Thames Valley – who served under Lord Bramall in the Army – said: 'The very least Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe should now do is put his best uniform on, get into his new Range Rover, and drive down to Lord Bramall's house and make a personal apology.'

Former Tory MP Harvey Proctor, who has been accused of murder and serial abuse by 'Nick' – allegations he fiercely denies – said: 'I think Sir Bernard should get down on his hands and knees and apologise to Lord Bramall.'

Speaking to the BBC Radio 4 Today programme, Mr Cameron said: 'He is a wonderful man with a great record of serving our country and I think what happened to him would have been very distressing.'

INQUIRY COST TAXPAYERS £2M

The ill-fated Operation Midland inquiry has cost taxpayers more than £2million.

Launched in November 2014, the inquiry is estimated to cost £1.8million a year in staffing costs alone. This does not include the cost of travel, equipment and expert advice, and it is not clear if it includes the overtime bill.

In a typically opaque Freedom of Information response last November, the Met said the operation 'costs approximately £1.8million per year', adding: 'This is staffing costs only.'

The force said this was the cost of a 'murder investigation team', but declined to say how many officers and staff were involved.

Other requests under the Act, which many chief constables have been lobbying to weaken further, were declined.

Like other forces, the Met is under considerable financial pressure, leading its commissioner, Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe, to warn that further cuts could endanger London.

It has already had to close stations and slim down neighbourhood policing teams because of the squeeze.

But he added: 'I think it is very difficult for a prime minister to get involved in these arguments because the police and the prosecuting services must be free to follow the evidence where it leads and go after people, no matter how high and mighty they are.

'But if they feel they get it wrong, I hope they can feel big enough to give people some comfort afterwards.'

London Mayor Boris Johnson called for an apology in his Daily Telegraph column today.

He said: 'It is pretty clear that Field Marshal Lord Bramall is owed a full and heartfelt apology.'

Mr Johnson acknowledged the 'extreme difficulty' police faced when it came to investigating such cases, saying it was Lord Bramall's prominence as an establishment figure that meant they felt the need to show 'a scrupulous refusal to be intimidated'.

He wrote: 'The police have a duty to follow the evidence - wherever it takes them. Imagine if it turned out that they had gone soft on the Field Marshal, just because he was so well connected.

'You can't blame the police, in the current climate, for taking no chances, though I can imagine that such evidence may be treated with even more circumspection. In this case they were plainly barking up the wrong tree.

'I hope a way will be found of making amends, because being a British war hero didn't help Bramall against these allegations; on the contrary, there was a sense in which his status simply made things worse.

'He deserves to put the last year behind him and accept the continued thanks of his country.'

It was at 8.27pm on Friday that Scotland Yard made a dramatic climbdown on the Bramall case, following months of growing fears that the case against him – built on the evidence of a man known by the pseudonym 'Nick' – was groundless.

'Nick', now regarded by a number of detectives as a Walter Mitty fantasist, had alleged that Lord Bramall, Britain's most decorated living soldier, abused him at a military base more than 30 years ago.

'Nick' has also made separate allegations of triple murder against an Establishment paedophile gang. Despite Nick's claims not being corroborated, 20 officers raided the war hero's home at breakfast time last March and spent ten hours rifling through his possessions as his terminally ill wife was 'shunted' from room to room.

Lord Bramall was later interviewed under caution over the allegations.

Yesterday Lord Bramall told the Mail: 'It's not for me to say whether there should be an independent inquiry. I think questions should be asked of the police. I get fed up of independent inquiries, they cost a lot of money and go on for years and no one takes much notice of them.'

Of the letter from the police on Friday, informing him he would not be charged, he said: 'The clearance was a very grudging acceptance… there was no case against me.' In the letter, the officer in charge of the inquiry, Deputy Assistant Commissioner Steve Rodhouse, could not bring himself to make it clear there was no evidence and, cruelly, left the door open for a fresh investigation.

Last night Mr Rodhouse said: 'I've got nothing to say.'

Thirteen months after Scotland Yard declared it believed Nick's allegations to be 'credible and true', no reliable evidence has been found to support his lurid claims. The force has publicly retreated from its claim that 'Nick' was telling the truth.

Lord Bramall in 2000 (left) and as a lieutenant, recieving his MC from Field Marshall Montgomery in 1945 (right)

Barrage of outrage: Lord Bramall (pictured) said 'Nick' – the man responsible for vile claims against him – should now face justice himself

Scotland Yard was under mounting pressure last night to put historic VIP child abuse 'fantasists' in the dock.

The force was told to urgently examine whether some of the leading voices behind the 'scandal' were guilty of breaking the law.

Senior officers also faced calls to consider whether they could be guilty of perverting the course of justice or wasting police time.

The barrage of outrage was led by Lord Bramall, who said 'Nick' – the man responsible for vile claims against him – should now face justice himself.

All charges against the war hero and former Army chief were dropped last Friday as police said there was insufficient evidence to proceed.

His demand for justice was backed by figures from across the political spectrum, who said investigators should examine the claims of several 'victims' and Exaro, the controversial online news agency which gave them a platform.

Last night the D-Day hero was also weighing up whether to sue Scotland Yard over the flawed year-long child-sex inquiry.

The 92-year-old, a veteran of the Normandy landings, endured the indignity of his home being raided at dawn on March 4 last year by 20 police officers on the basis of a single complaint by a witness known only as 'Nick'.

At the time, Avril, his wife of 66 years, was suffering from Alzheimer's disease. She died last summer without knowing her war veteran husband had been cleared.

Lord Bramall said he had been 'through hell' since being confronted with claims that he had raped and molested 'Nick' between 1976 and 1984 at a military base in the West Country.

Speaking to a Sunday newspaper, Lord Bramall described the strain of being embroiled in a 'sinister witch-hunt' following 'bizarre and grotesque' allegations that he tortured and sexually abused young boys. 'I think he (his accuser) should be [prosecuted],' he said. 'My lawyer says the complainant ought to be prosecuted for wasting police time but it is not for me to say what the police should do.

'It was all based on wild statements by 'Nick' which were so bizarre and outrageous and grotesque, any normal policeman would have realised they were complete fantasy. For a 91-year-old man with a dying wife, it hasn't been easy for me and for the family.

NICK'S OUTRAGEOUS ALLEGATIONS

Operation Midland began after a man known only as 'Nick' made allegations in 2014 that he was abused by a VIP paedophile gang linked to Westminster. Here the Mail assesses his most outrageous claims:

LORD BRAMALL ACCUSED OF RAPE AND SEXUAL ASSAULT

CLAIM: 'Nick' claimed Lord Bramall raped and molested him at a military base between 1976 and 1984.

OUTCOME: Scotland Yard grudgingly admits there is 'insufficient evidence'. In reality there was no evidence.

TORY MP KILLED A YOUNG BOY

CLAIM: 'Nick' told police that then Tory MP Harvey Proctor throttled a 12-year-old boy to death in front of him during a sex orgy at Dolphin Square, a luxury apartment complex near Parliament which was popular with Establishment figures. Later, Mr Proctor allegedly raped and threatened to castrate 'Nick' with a penknife, but was stopped by former Prime Minister Sir Edward Heath.

OUTCOME: Police raided Mr Proctor's home last year but no victim has ever been identified or a body found. The case is ongoing.

Accused: A man known as 'Nick' told police that the Tory MP Harvey Proctor (left) throttled a boy to death in front of him during a sex orgy. Former Prime Minister Sir Edward Heath (right) was accused of raping 'Nick'

EDWARD HEATH ABUSED 'NICK'

CLAIM:The former Prime Minister is accused of raping 'Nick'. Wiltshire police are probing historical abuse allegations made against Sir Edward and appealed for witnesses outside the late PM's Salisbury home.

OUTCOME: Inquiries ongoing.

MINISTER SAW A SECOND BOY MURDERED

CLAIM: 'Nick' said a second boy was killed by two unknown men in the presence of an unnamed Tory minister during an orgy.

OUTCOME: No victim identified and no witness has come forward.

FLOWN TO PARIS AND ABUSED

CLAIM: 'Nick' said he was flown to Paris and sexually abused in France by members of the Saudi royal family.

OUTCOME: Police officers have fruitlessly taken him to several airfields in the hope he might identify where he was allegedly smuggled out of the country.

LORD BRITTAN ACCUSED

CLAIM: 'Nick' told police that then Home Secretary Leon Brittan raped and molested him. A separate allegation that he raped a 19-year-old woman known as 'Jane' in 1967 was made in November 2012.

OUTCOME: Police have found no credible evidence to substantiate 'Nick' but inquiries continue even though Lord Brittan is dead. Police also found 'no evidence' to support Jane's claims and that case is closed.

BOY RUN OVER BY PAEDOPHILES

CLAIM: 'Nick' claimed a boy aged ten or 11 was deliberately run down and killed by a car in Kingston, South-West London, in broad daylight between May and July 1979.

OUTCOME: Police have been unable to find any evidence to support the claim. BBC1's Panorama programme established that it could not possibly have taken place.

ABUSED BY HIS STEPFATHER

CLAIM: In 2012, 'Nick' made an allegation of historic child sexual abuse against his stepfather. He did not refer to VIP paedophiles or murders. He later said his stepfather introduced him to the Westminster VIP abuse ring.

OUTCOME: Because his stepfather died in 1995, the claims were not investigated.

'My wife had Alzheimer's and when the police came she was downstairs. She kept on saying what are all these people doing and I couldn't explain it. She was very distressed. Given my distinguished career, to have 20 policemen come through your house for ten hours, it was a bit rough.'

Lord Bramall said: 'The police say they didn't leak it but they kept on talking about it. When they searched the house they had 20 police for ten hours in the middle of the village and the police had lunch in the pub five minutes away. If that is not making sure the public knows about it, I don't know what is.'

He added: 'The police have rather grudgingly said they are not pursuing the case. Well, we all knew that they couldn't, because there was nothing to pursue. I was hoping for rather more than that. But I'm going see my lawyer on Monday and talk about whether we'll go back to the police and say: 'Can't you do a bit better than that?'

The Met responded to the criticism by saying it fears future victims could be put off by media scrutiny and their needs must come first.

The raids were first publicised by Exaro, an obscure website with close links to the increasingly discredited 'Nick'.

'Nick' is a serial fantasist yet has remained anonymous, but a war hero's name, Lord Bramall, has been made public

Tory grandee David Mellor

Last night, former Tory MP Harvey Proctor, 69, who remains under investigation based on his claims, said 'abuse fantasists' should be charged with criminal offences. He said: 'If 'Nick' is not mentally ill – and I assume the Metropolitan Police has examined this issue – then he should stand trial for perverting the course of justice and wasting police time.

'At the very least, he should be investigated for these offences. The Met's continued investigation of me reeks of vengeance in the light of my public statement on the case last August.'

BBC Radio 2 DJ Paul Gambaccini, who spent 12 months on police bail over false sex allegations before being cleared, agreed. He said: 'In the dozens of false accusations made against famous people during the witch-hunt, no one has been charged with wasting police time, squandering millions of pounds of taxpayer money, or tormenting innocent individuals.

'This is because, by law, the British police and Crown Prosecution Service cosset and protect their false accusers, without whom they could not conduct a witch-hunt. False accusers should be prosecuted or, if appropriate, offered medical assistance.'

Tory grandee David Mellor said the allegations by 'Nick' were an 'insult to our intelligence'. He added: 'Nick' is a serial fantasist yet has remained anonymous, but a war hero's name, Lord Bramall, has been made public. 'Nick' should be exposed and prosecuted for wasting police time.'

Tory MP Colonel Bob Stewart added: 'Why can't they bring charges against the man making these claims? When you make an accusation against someone like Edwin Bramall and it doesn't stand up, you should face the consequences.'

Lord Macdonald, a former Director of Public Prosecutions, said: 'If someone deliberately and maliciously makes a false complaint against another person, that could certainly amount to a criminal offence.'